After a long day of traveling, Kristin returned home on Saturday, July 8, 2023, just in time to celebrate Trudi’s Gotcha Day with Jared. He had been insisting on camping and secured a spot near McClure Pass the day prior, not too far from our home in Carbondale. After getting there and setting up camp (and Kristin taking a quick nap), we opted for a hike up Huntsmans Ridge. Neither of us had previewed the trail, which ended up gained about 2000 feet of elevation in under 2 miles (translation: it was super steep). Sections are literally at a 20% grade and Kristin’s hip wasn’t too thrilled. Oops.
[NOTE: A “Gotcha Day” is the anniversary of when a pet is adopted from a shelter, as it can be difficult to know the actual birthday. It is celebrated in a similar fashion as a birthday, mostly treats and toys.]
After finding some snow and throwing it for Trudi (and at Jared), the trio made it to the highest part of the trail, which opened up to an amazing vista. We took in the views, including the back of Mt Sopris – the iconic mountain that rises from our backyard – albeit from a different angle. It was just stunning up there.
We took a bit of a break to enjoy the mountain tops and to have a snack. After a bit and ready to head down, Jared told Kristin to take in the view of the peaks one last time. Kristin paused an extra second, thinking Jared was taking a photo her like she does all the time of him and Trudi with a scenic background.
Mid turn, Kristin saw her long shadow (it was around 6 p.m.), Trudi and her long shadow, but no shadow for Jared who was directly behind her (“Hmm that is odd”). She was about mid-turn when she realized why – Jared was on one knee, asking Kristin to marry him. (Kristin may have said yes before Jared even finished the question. Typical.) Kristin burst into uncontrollable happy tears and the stupid grins say it all – K+J are getting MARRIED! Despite her fingers turning into sausages because of the hike, Kristin managed to get the ring into her swollen finger, but she couldn’t managed to remove her other ring on her left hand for hours.
On the hike down Kristin learned all about the behind the scenes secrets and how she had messed up Jared’s proposal plans more than once! Back at the trailhead, in the car there was a bottle of Veuve Clicquot (how Cloud 9), hidden in Jared’s bag, as Kristin had earlier botched his plan to keep it cold when she packed the cooler herself. There was also some dessert to celebrate. After returning to camp we enjoyed an amazing dirtbag camping dinner with high class bubbles in silicone camp cups.
It was perfect.
We were able to savor the moment all evening and into the next day – just the two of us, with Trudi by our side. Now July 8th has even more meaning and Jared managed to get a fiancé on Gotcha Day too. Cheers to our next adventure.🥂